Politics

Rishi Sunak is considering a recommendation that would effectively ban cigarettes for the next generation. The prime minister could introduce some of the world’s toughest anti-smoking measures by steadily increasing the legal age for consuming tobacco, according to The Guardian, citing Whitehall sources. The paper said it also understood Mr Sunak’s leadership pledge to fine

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will not allow the UK to become a “rule-taker” after his comments suggesting he did not want to diverge from EU rules sparked criticism. The Labour leader immediately rejected suggestions from the Conservatives that he wanted to take the UK back into the EU, telling reporters: “There is no

Labour has pledged legislation requiring future governments to get an independent impact assessment of any significant tax and spending commitments they wish to make. Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have vowed to strengthen the role of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) as part of the party’s plan to “bring growth and stability back

Sir Keir Starmer has declared “we don’t want to diverge” from EU rules in footage of a conference of centre-left leaders in Canada seen by Sky News. The Labour leader went beyond his usual cautious formulations on Britain’s relationship with the EU at an event on Saturday alongside the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Store.

Rishi Sunak’s watering down of climate pledges is not a “cynical ploy” – but is rather the prime minister doing “what is right”, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said. Last night, Mr Sunak announced a raft of changes to the UK’s climate pledges, including delaying the ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine

The reaction – to a move by Rishi Sunak to delay the government’s green policies – has been mixed to say the least, with opposition parties criticising the prime minister’s leadership as “weak” and the decision “damaging” for the climate.  As net zero sceptics cheered there was criticism from some in the car industry and

The home secretary has said that “we’re not going to save the planet by bankrupting the British people” in response to reports the government is looking at watering down its green pledges. Among the changes being considering are the pushing back of a ban on the sales of new vehicles with internal combustion engines from

The Online Safety Bill has passed its last parliamentary hurdle in the House of Lords, meaning it will finally become law after years of delay. The flagship piece of legislation aims to regulate online content to help keep users safe, especially children, and to put the onus on social media companies to protect people from

Boris Johnson’s chaotic time in office exposed weaknesses in the UK’s political system that have damaged public trust and the country’s international reputation, a major review has found. A report by the Institute for Government (IfG) called for urgent reform following a tumultuous period which has seen MPs test or break constitutional principles – including

An unrepentant Liz Truss has sought to blame a left-wing infiltration of thinktanks, the Bank of England and other “institutions” for the market turmoil during her brief premiership. Ms Truss was speaking at an Institute for Government event about what she believes are the issues with the UK economy. Her 49 days as prime minister

Labour will look to build a closer trading relationship with the EU if it wins the next election, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader spent the weekend meeting fellow centre-left leaders in Montreal, Canada, including the country’s prime minister Justin Trudeau. The party has long been critical of the deal negotiated by the

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to guarantee the tax burden – currently the largest since the Second World War –  would not increase under Labour. While the opposition leader told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme he wanted it to come down “for working people”, his “laser focus” was on growing the economy.

Sir Keir Starmer has described Conservative Party claims that Labour’s plans on immigration would increase asylum seeker numbers as “nonsense”. Speaking exclusively to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, from a summit in Montreal, the Labour leader maintained the government has “no control” of UK borders. He said: “What concerns people is that basic idea that

Rishi Sunak was persuaded not to quit as chancellor over his COVID lockdown fine after discussions with executives working for media mogul Rupert Murdoch, it has been claimed. Mr Sunak is reported to have shared a draft resignation statement with allies after both he and Boris Johnson were fined for attending the then-prime minister’s birthday

Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate for London mayor, is reported to have liked tweets praising controversial former minister Enoch Powell. Ms Hall, who will go up against Labour’s Sadiq Khan in the mayoral election next May, liked a message in February 2020 quoting the far-right, anti-immigration politician as saying: “It’s never too late to save

American XL bully dogs are a danger to communities and will banned, Rishi Sunak has said, after a man was mauled to death. Announcing the move, the prime minister stressed the need to end such violent attacks “and keep people safe”. Mr Sunak was responding to the latest incident in which a man died after

Labour has promised to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers if it gets into power at the next election. Outlining its latest policy pledges, the party said it would also clear the growing backlog of asylum cases and speed up the return of those who fail to meet the threshold. As a result

The NHS will receive a £200m boost from the government ahead of the busiest months of the year for them. The winter resilience fund is aimed at supporting the health service so it can attend to patients as quickly as possible amid record waiting lists. Last month, NHS England said 7.6 million people were waiting

Labour has confirmed it would seek to negotiate a returns agreement for migrants with the EU if it wins power, as it accused the government of having “lost control of our borders”. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the “objective” was to secure a returns agreement to establish “management and control of the system”.

The chair of the Commons’ defence committee, Tobias Ellwood, has resigned from his role following criticism over a video he posted on social media, Sky News understands. The Tory MP, who had been the chair of the cross-party group since 2020, came under pressure to quit after sharing the clip on X, the platform formerly

The Conservatives reportedly dropped two potential candidates to become MPs after MI5 warned that they could be spies for China. The security service contacted the Tory Party last year and in 2021 advising the pair should not be included on the central list of candidates, according to The Times. The newspaper reported the pair had

Angela Rayner declared the battle to win over voters at the next general election is “getting started” as she revealed Labour’s vision to boost workers’ rights. In a speech at the TUC conference in Liverpool, Labour’s deputy leader gave a “cast iron commitment” to push through an employment rights bill in the party’s first 100

Collapse-prone concrete has been found in the Houses of Parliament. Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, known as RAAC, was a common building material used in the post-war era as it was cheaper and lighter than traditional concrete. But it is now proving a nightmare for the government as it has been found to have a 30-year

A parliamentary researcher who has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China has said he is “completely innocent”. In a statement released by his lawyers, the man – who they did not name – said: “I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a ‘Chinese spy’. It is wrong that

The Conservatives will be accused of having “broken Britain” in a keynote speech by the new leader of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) attacking the state of the economy and public services. In his first speech as head of the union federation, Paul Nowak will highlight that “nothing works in this country anymore and no

About 40 prisoners have been moved out of Wandsworth prison after the escape of terror suspect Daniel Khalife. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that inmates were moved “out of an abundance of caution”. Khalife, 21, was arrested on Saturday after 75 hours on the run. Politics Live: Justice

Two men have been arrested under the Official Secrets Act amid reports that a parliamentary researcher spied for China. The researcher has links to several senior Tory MPs and has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, according to The Sunday Times. He was arrested along with another man by officers on 13 March,

Rishi Sunak says he is confident a trade deal will be struck between the UK and India after meeting with Narendra Modi at the G20 summit. The meeting came as the Indian prime minister said a consensus had been reached on a G20 leaders’ declaration and it has now been adopted. The wording around the

Rishi Sunak has denied his party is preparing for election defeat and insists his team is “fired up” about winning a full term. Asked what his message would be to Tory MPs despondent about the party’s lag in the polls, Mr Sunak said he was “entirely confident we can win the next election”. “I am

The jail from which terror suspect Daniel Abed Khalife escaped “really needs closing ultimately”, the chief inspector of prisons has said. Speaking to Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, Charlie Taylor said there was a “crisis” in large institutions like Wandsworth prison in south London due to a lack of places and staff, and

Labour is calling for an independent inquiry into how a prisoner was able to escape from a London jail while awaiting trial for terror offences. Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, is alleged to have escaped from Wandsworth prison – one of the UK’s largest – under a food truck. Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said

Rishi Sunak has sounded a cautious note about the prospects of signing Britain’s biggest post-Brexit trade deal, saying it is “not a given”. Speaking to reporters as he travelled to the G20 in Delhi, the prime minister said he would “check in” with Narendra Modi about the progress towards a free trade agreement. But he

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has come under fire from colleagues for her “unilateral” decision to determine which school buildings need to close as part of the concrete crisis, Sky News has learned. Ministers elsewhere in Whitehall fear she has opened a “Pandora’s box” by setting a more cautious than necessary standard that could affect a